Australian cryptocurrency enthusiasts are confident “it’s a whole new world” after Bitcoin hit the highest price in its 15-year history.
Australian cryptocurrency fans are feeling optimistic after Bitcoin prices hit an all-time high, less than two years after a brutal industry-wide crash that wiped out billions of dollars.
Bitcoin was trading for just under $69,000 earlier this week, more than quadrupling its value since late 2022, when it plummeted to below $16,000 and was declared dead following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
“It seems like all of this just happened in the last two weeks,” said Jackson Zeng, a Melbourne-based cryptocurrency trader.
Bitcoin has soared to a record price (stock image pictured) and cryptocurrency enthusiasts are optimistic that the bitcoin market will continue to rise.
Like many others, Zeng links the sudden rise in Bitcoin price to the long-awaited approval in January of 11 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by US regulators.
That approval made gaining exposure to Bitcoin as easy as buying a stock at a traditional brokerage, making it more accessible to both retail and institutional investors.
In less than two months, nearly $50 billion has been invested in Bitcoin ETFs in the US market, with the largest, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, holding more than $10 billion.
“When we had the crazy rally from $50,000 to $60,000, that was very, very clearly the impact of net ETF inflows,” Mr. Zeng said.
The year was always expected to be a bullish year for cryptocurrencies, but not because of the approval of the ETF.
In mid-April, Bitcoin’s inflation rate will halve, to just 0.8 percent, as it happens roughly every four years.
Approximately 900 Bitcoin (or 6.25 every 10 minutes) are generated each day to reward “miners” who maintain the integrity of the decentralized network.
After the ‘halving’, that reward will be reduced to 450 Bitcoin per day.
Previous halvings (in November 2012, July 2016, and May 2020) caused supply shocks that resulted in large cryptocurrency rallies approximately six months later.
Setting an all-time high before the halving event was unprecedented, said Townsville-based cryptocurrency trader Michael Sloggett.
“I firmly believe this is very different from anything we have experienced before,” Mr Sloggett said.
“It’s a whole new world – we’re in a new and exciting place we’ve never been before, where anything is possible, both up and down.”
David Haslop, founder of the Australian Cryptocurrency Convention, was equally optimistic.
“We are witnessing what we have speculated and dreamed of all these years,” he said.
“Institutions are buying a lot and the retail market hasn’t even started yet.”
Australian Crypto Convention founder David Haslop is feeling optimistic. Pictured with his son Austin and his wife Kelly.
The approval of 11 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (file image pictured) by US regulators has opened the door to more investments.
Nearly $50 billion has been invested in Bitcoin ETFs on the market (stock image pictured) in the United States in less than two months.
‘After halving? It’s not crazy to think that BTC could surpass 250,000 in a relatively short period of time.
Haslop and Sloggett are not always so optimistic about cryptocurrency markets.
In June 2022, both accurately predicted further declines for the original cryptocurrency.
Beyond the halving, Zeng said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would have to decide by May 23 whether to approve ETFs for Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency.
“The market estimates that there is a probability that it will be approved or rejected in the open,” Mr Zeng said.
“There is a theory that an Ethereum ETF has a lower chance of approval simply due to the complexity and the likelihood that the SEC will not consider it as simple as Bitcoin by not being a security now.”
If an Ethereum ETF is approved, it could have a dramatic effect on the market.
Zeng said that unlike Bitcoin, Ether’s supply in the market was declining after a 2022 upgrade known as “the meltdown.”
Bitcoin hit a high of $69,200 on Tuesday, March 3, 2024 (pictured), surpassing November 2021’s all-time peak of $69,000.